For much of yesterday’s play England looked flat. After all the excitement of the Wanderers at the end of the previous Test and with the boon of Michael Vaughan calling the toss correctly again — he’s still calling heads — the scene was set for a different story from the one that emerged, at least for the first couple of sessions of the day.

The most honourable exception was the indomitable Andrew Flintoff. Despite increasing signs of wear over the past weeks, including the side strain that niggled him before the Wanderers and the recurrence of his ankle problem, he